April 1, 2015

Greetings to all from your “New Building” committee. We wanted to give the Foothills family a brief update on the progress of our capital funding campaign and what lies ahead for the new building.

As many will recall, our planned fellowship hall is estimated to cost roughly 1.2 million dollars. Our five-year capital campaign pledged about $460,000 towards this goal. Less than two years into the campaign your generosity has already raised over $225,000. Thank you! While we have lost some pledgers recently, I expect this total to double over the next three years. We are investing these funds to gain the benefit of compound interest even as we prepare for the next steps.

Secure a funding stream to support debt maintenance should we launch construction before accumulating total project funding.

We’ve already discussed number 1 – going well! Number 2 is also in motion as evidenced by transplanted trees, a migrating volleyball court, and a vanishing garden plot.

Number 3, a secure revenue stream, will be the big piece of the puzzle. As you know, our general fund is not presently ready to take on a mortgage. Launching construction with borrowed money would not be prudent at this time. But as our capital fund grows, unexpected gifts arrive, and our general fund grows more robust we will continue to evaluate different timelines and funding models. I expect to update the congregation at least quarterly and no large financial commitment will be made without open discussion at church council. Your Building Committee is committed to good stewardship of the gifts you have made to the Foothills legacy.

As we continue moving this project forward you should always feel comfortable asking questions.